How to Install Microsoft Edge Browser on Ubuntu 20.04

Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s former flagship web browser, had been running since 1995, and few people actually like it. That’s a big reason why in 2015 Microsoft released Edge, their new and improved browser.

The browser has, since then, undergone radical change itself, and the latest version is based entirely on the open source Chromium source code, while being retooled with more business-friendly features.

Microsoft has made a big effort with Edge to improve the browsing experience, and it’s paid off.

Microsoft Edge has enough features and benefits that it’s actually a real alternative to more popular browsers like Chrome or Firefox.

The stable browser version is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, while the developer preview is available for Linux.

This is especially true with the Edge’s most recent update, which overhauled how the browser runs and operates.

Features of Microsoft Edge:

  • Sidebar Search
  • Install Websites as Apps
  • Microsoft Edge delivers the best immersive viewing experience in 4K and Dolby Audio
  • Built-In Coupon and Promo Codes
  • Web Capture
  • Organize your research with Collections
  • Pin Tabs to Edge and Pin Websites to Taskbar
  • Put Tabs to Sleep
  • Work efficiently with vertical tabs
  • Use Edge Extensions
  • Choose a Non-ISP DNS Provider
  • Save time with smart copy

How Many People Use Edge?

In 2021, Microsoft Edge currently has 3.4% of the worldwide internet market, with an estimated 158 million people using it today. Edge performs well in the desktop market share at 8.1%, and a much lower 0.1% for mobile browser use.

Edge Browser Usage Statistics:

  • Number of people using Edge: 158 million worldwide
  • 12-month growth: 2.14% to 3.4% (2020-2021)
  • Growth since launch: 00.3% to 3.4% (2015-2021)
  • Highest market share: 3.4% (right now)
  • Growth trend: It’s only increased year-over-year
  • Release date: July 25, 2015
All PlatformsDesktopMobileTablet
3.4%8.1%0.1%0.3%
Image Credit: backlinko.com

This article explains how to install the Microsoft Edge Browser web browser on Ubuntu 20.04.

Please note: this article is about how to install Edge on Ubuntu, not why you should install it. You decide which software you use on your system. And if you don’t want Edge? That’s fine!

Keep in mind that Microsoft Edge for Linux is in beta. It is not yet considered “stable”. Some features are also unsupported on Linux.

Installing Edge Browser on Ubuntu

There are two ways by which you can install Microsoft Edge in Ubuntu 20.04.

Graphical Way

Installing Edge using a graphical user interface is easy as Microsoft provide official installer packages for Ubuntu.

Step #1

To get started, you just need to download the suitable package (.deb) for Ubuntu.

Image Credit: omgubuntu.co.uk

Choose to save the .deb package to your Downloads folder or any other. directory you can access easily.

Image Credit: omgubuntu.co.uk

Step #2

Using .deb file is super easy. Just double-click on the downloaded file to install it.

The file will be opened in the Software Center and you can install it from there.

Image Credit: omgubuntu.co.uk

Step #3

Once done, You can launch the browser from your favourite app launcher.

In the Activities search bar, type “Edge” and click on the icon to launch the application.

Image Credit: itsfoss.com

Terminal Way

Installing Edge browser on Ubuntu through CLI(Command Line Interface) is a pretty straightforward process.

Just enable the Microsoft Edge repository from the command-line and install the package with the help of apt.

So, let’s get started.

Step #1

First of all to get all of the available updates.

Open your terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and type the following command.

$ apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
$ sudo apt install software-properties-common apt-transport-https wget

Step #2

Then set-up script. This adds the Microsoft Edge repo to your system, and imports the Microsoft GPG key to authenticate packages.

$ wget -q https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Step #3

Type the following command to enable the Edge browser repository.

$ sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main"

Step #4

Now run the following command to install Microsoft Edge Web Browser.

$ sudo apt install microsoft-edge-dev

Once done, You can launch the browser from your favourite app launcher. In the Activities search bar, type “Edge” and click on the icon to launch the application.

Image Credit: itsfoss.com

How to update the Microsoft Edge package

Microsoft adds its repository to the sources.list so that you get updates to Microsoft Edge through system updater.

When a new version is released, you can update the Edge package through your desktop standard Software Update tool or by running the following commands in your terminal.

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt upgrade

How to uninstall Edge

It’s easy to uninstall Microsoft Edge using the command line, Just open a new Terminal window and run the following command.

$ sudo apt remove microsoft-edge-*

Conclusion

I hope that now you have a good understanding of How to Install Microsoft Edge Browser on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa.

If anyone does have any questions about what we covered in this guide then feel free to ask in the comment section below and I will do my best to answer those.

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